This invention concerns an adjustment system, or apparatus, for a reflector of a motor-vehicle headlight of a type having: a threaded adjusting pin which is rotatably mounted in an opening of a fixed housing containing the reflector which has a hand knob on an end portion thereof for rotating it while it is coupled to the reflector at an opposite end portion thereof, so that the reflector is pivoted about an axis by rotating the adjusting pin; and an indicating device for indicating the position of the reflector comprising essentially a toothed gear with a scale-like indicator thereon and a pinion gear mounted on the adjusting threaded pin for interengaging with the toothed gear, the toothed gear being loosely mounted for rotation on an axle extending outwardly from the housing with the axle extending through a central opening of the toothed gear and having a radial lug at its free end for engaging an outwardly facing side of the toothed gear, and with the toothed gear being movable from a position in which is doesn't engage the pinion to a position in which it does engage the pinion, the toothed gear including a locking device for securing it against such movement. Such an adjusting system for a reflector of a motor vehicle headlight is disclosed in German Offerlegungsschrift DE 40 13 893 A1. In the device of this patent a housing for receiving a reflector is manufactured of resinous plastic to have a pot shape. The pot-shaped housing is closed at its front side by a light-transmissive shield or lens. The reflector is supported within the housing by two adjusting devices and a fixed holding device. With the adjusting devices the reflector can be pivoted about a horizontal axis and about a vertical axis. The horizontal axis is defined by an adjustable position of an adjusting device and a fixed position of the holding device while the vertical axis is defined by the fixed position of the holding device and an adjustable position of the other adjusting device. The adjusting device which pivots the reflector about the vertical axis has a scale-like indicating device with which, by a simple visual inspection, it can be determined if the reflector is properly adjusted with regard to its horizontal pivoting; that is, it is possible by means of a visual inspection to determine if the optical axis of the reflector extends parallel to a vertical middle plane of a motor vehicle. The adjusting pin of the adjusting device for horizontal pivoting of the reflector is rotatably mounted in an opening at an edge of a floor of the pot-shaped housing. An end portion of the adjusting pin nearest the reflector is a threaded shaft which engages a nut pivotally mounted on a backside of the reflector, the nut being slidably guided for movement on an upper sidewall of the housing. An end portion of the adjusting pin or bolt, which extends out of the housing is knurled on its outer surface. A manipulation knob is shoved onto the knurled portion in press-fit which serves as a hand knob to rotate the adjusting pin. An opening of the housing which serves as a rotational mount for the adjusting pin is sealed by a ring seal which lies against an interior edge area of the housing defining the opening. A pinion gear of the indicating device is arranged on a side of the manipulation knob facing away from the housing and has a substantially smaller cross-section than the manipulation knob. A toothed gear whose teeth interengage teeth of the pinion gear is bowl-shaped with its teeth being about its outwardly directed peripheral edge. An inner side of the bowl shaped toothed gear is directed toward a front of the headlight and on the floor of the bowl-shaped gear there is a central inverted hub in which there is a central opening of the toothed gear. The axle which extends through the central opening of the toothed gear is a separate part and its length axis extends parallel to a length axis of the adjusting pin. An end portion of the axle extending toward a front side has a knurled outer surface which is pressed into an opening in a flange of the housing extending radially from the housing. An end portion of the axle directed toward a back of the headlight has at its free end a radial head which defines a circumferential edge surrounding the axle whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the inverted hub which is in the floor of the bowl-shaped toothed gear. In a position of the toothed gear in which it interengages with the pinion gear, the circumferential edge, or head, of the axle is spaced from a base of the inverted hub and spring arms mounted outside the base of the inverted hub engage in a ring groove about the axle at a level of the manipulation knob. A scale of the indicating device is on a facing side of the toothed gear directed toward the rear of the headlight to cooperate with a pointer serving as a measuring mark, which is a separate part and which is additionally attached to the housing. In order to move the toothed gear to its position in which it is not interengaged with the pinion gear, it can be moved axially toward the rear of the headlight until the head defining the radially outwardly protruding surrounding edge of the axle engages on the base of the central depression, or inverted hub, of the toothed gear. When this is done, the spring engaging arms in the surrounding groove of the axle glide out of the ringed groove to lie on a main outer surface of the axle. By axially moving the toothed gear between these two positions the toothed gear can be set to a zero value of the scale as indicated by the pointer after the reflector of the headlight is exactly horizontally adjusted. It is a disadvantage in this known adjustment system for a reflector of a motor-vehicle headlight that the thin-wall toothed gear is spaced from a housing rear side and, when viewed along its axis, extends beyond sidewalls of the pot-shaped housing whereby the headlight can be easily and quickly damaged when it is mounted on a motor vehicle body. Further, the toothed gear must be mounted onto an axle which is a separate part. When the toothed gear is dismounted, the axle must be pulled out of the opening of the outwardly extending flange of the housing by application of great force. Pulling out the axle requires an assisting tool and the flange of the housing can be broken when it is pulled out. Similarly, when the toothed gear is mounted the axle must be pressed with great force in the opening of the flange of the housing. When this is done, one must be careful that the axle is pressed only so far into the flange of the housing that the teeth of the toothed gear come into interengagement with the pinion gear of the adjusting pin. Such a mounting and a dismounting of the toothed gear is quite inconvenient and time intensive. Further, because the toothed gear is spaced from the outer surface of the housing, it can be inadvertently moved to the position in which it is no longer in interengagement with the pinion gear. The toothed gear also cannot be moved closer to the outer surface of the housing because the large manipulation knob is arranged between it and the housing as a hand knob to rotate the adjusting pin. The pointer which provides the measuring mark is not only a separate part but also is spaced from the outer surface of the housing and can therefore be easily broken.
It is an object of the invention to provide an adjustment system of the type mentioned above for a reflector of a motor vehicle headlight whose toothed gear has an indicating device and whose axle cannot be easily damaged when it is stored, transported and mounted in a motor-vehicle-body opening and whose toothed gear can also reliably function while having a flat configuration across its width.
Further, it is an object of the invention to provide such an adjustment system whose toothed gear can be easily mounted and dismounted.